


a love deeper than the ocean

by haleofStilesheart



Series: Emoji Prompts [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Aquariums, Established Relationship, Holding Hands, Jazz - Freeform, M/M, Romantic Derek, Surprise Date, Surprises, aquarium date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-07-18 17:20:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7324003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haleofStilesheart/pseuds/haleofStilesheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek surprises Stiles with a trip to the aquarium for their fourth date.</p><p><em>“They’re beautiful.”</em><br/>“Yeah, they really are,” Derek agreed, reaching out for Stiles’ hand, squeezing it gently.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	a love deeper than the ocean

**Author's Note:**

  * For [taco-slap](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=taco-slap).



> For the prompt:  
> 
> 
> [Send me a prompt!](http://hale-of-stiles-heart.tumblr.com/)

Sometimes it surprised Stiles how romantic Derek could be.

On their first date, a classic dinner and a movie, Derek had been a perfect gentleman; had held the car door open for him and pulled his chair out for him at the restaurant, had kissed him on the cheek when he dropped him off. Stiles had been charmed beyond belief.

On their second date, a walk through the local park and a picnic afterwards, Derek had loaned Stiles his leather jacket when he’d shivered as they watched the sunset. Stiles had smiled dazzlingly and laid his head on Derek’s shoulder.

On their third date, a trip to the bowling alley much to Stiles’ surprise, Derek had hugged Stiles from behind and pressed a quick kiss to the side of his neck, thoroughly distracting him and making him laughing. Stiles had still gotten the spare. 

But it was on their fourth date that Derek truly went all out.

Stiles had been wringing his hands for half an hour, chewing on his bottom lip, and periodically peeking out the front window for any sign of Derek. His dad had rolled his eyes and goodnaturedly snapped at him to sit down and stop fidgeting, dropping the newspaper to his lap and reminding him that Derek wouldn’t be there to pick him up until seven and was always on time.

“I know, I’m just anxious I guess,” Stiles conceded, sighing as he took a seat on the couch opposite his dad, leg beginning to bounce restively. He looked over his shoulder, trying to peer out the window, raising his thumb to his mouth to nibble on his cuticle.

The Sheriff sat up straighter, pulling his reading glasses off and resting his elbows on his knees as he watched his son slowly but surely drive himself towards an anxiety attack. 

“Stiles,” he called, voice firm. Stiles whipped his head around to look at his dad, eyebrows raised in silent question. “Just breathe, okay?”

Stiles nodded before inhaling deeply through his nose, eyes sliding closed, holding the breath for several seconds before releasing it through his mouth in a heavy sigh. He repeated the familiar exercise until his leg had stopped its incessant bouncing and he was feeling much calmer.

“What are you so anxious about, anyhow?” John asked, cocking a brow. “It’s just a date. Nothing too crazy,  _ right? _ ”

His words held a warning undertone that Stiles was very, very familiar with. 

“Dad, c’mon! I’m eighteen!” Stiles whined, petulant tone belying his staunch defense of his age, rolling his eyes dramatically.

“I know you’re eighteen. But that doesn’t mean I can’t still be protective of you,” the Sheriff returned matter-of-factly, sliding his glasses back on and picking his paper back up. “I’m still your father, after all.”

“Dad, it’s  _ Derek _ ,” Stiles reminded him, the emphatic  _ duh _ left unsaid. “Do you really think he’d ever hurt me?”

“No. But if he ever does, you can be sure I’ll take care of it,” he promised, leveling his son with a stern look that assured Stiles he wasn’t kidding.

“Dad!” Stiles groaned, dragging the word out into three distinct syllables, sounding like a teenager who’d just been embarrassed in front of the entire class.

The knock on the front door jolted them both to awareness, Stiles because of his involvement in all things supernatural, and his dad because of his many years in law enforcement.

“Behave,” Stiles instructed, wagging a finger at his father as he stood to greet Derek. The Sheriff merely chuckled and raised his palms in concession. 

Stiles hurriedly checked his appearance in the hallway mirror as he jogged to the door, fussing with his hair. He swung the door open, breathlessly greeting, “Hey, Derek.”

Derek swooped in and kissed Stiles’ cheek by way of greeting, the small gesture making Stiles’ heart race. When Derek straightened, Stiles noticed a bouquet of deep pink roses in Derek’s hand. Following Stiles’ gaze, Derek raised his hand, presenting the bouquet to Stiles. “Hey. Uh, these are for you.”

Stiles gratefully accepted them, feeling a blush spread over his cheeks. Realizing he had spaced out for a moment, he said, “Oh! Uh, come in. I’ll find something to put these in.”

Stiles gestured his hand to the side, motioning for Derek to follow him as he turned back into the side. Derek remained by the door as Stiles walked to the kitchen, nose buried in the bright petals of the roses and pointedly ignoring the look his father gave him as he passed. Derek waved at the Sheriff, offered a nod and a polite, “Sheriff.”

“Derek,” the Sheriff returned evenly, reciprocating the nod before turning back to his newspaper. 

In the kitchen, Stiles grabbed one of his mother’s vases from the cabinet and filled it water before placing it on the counter. He gently dropped the bouquet in the vase, fussing with the flower arrangement for a minute or two before returning to Derek.

“You ready to go?” Derek asked, hands in his pockets, when Stiles came back from the kitchen.

Stiles nodded, turning his head and waving to his dad, calling, “Bye, dad! See ya later!”

“Stay safe, son! Have fun, you two!” The Sheriff responded, not looking up from his paper but lifting a hand to wave.

Derek led Stiles to the Camaro, opening the passenger side door and holding his hand as Stiles slid into his seat, carefully closing the door behind him. He jogged around the nose of the car to the driver’s side, quickly climbing and buckling his seatbelt, resisting the urge to lean over and pull Stiles into a kiss. He double checked that Stiles was wearing his seatbelt before pulling away from the house. 

“So… Where are we going, handsome?” Stiles inquired from the passenger seat, head turned to look at Derek, resting his cheek against the plush leather seat. His eyes shamelessly raked over Derek’s outfit. He looked as devastatingly good as always, like a runaway runway model. He was wearing a gray Henley under his leather jacket that looked new.

Derek’s lips quirked up into a grin as he casually replied, “It’s a surprise.”

“Ugh, you know I don’t like surprises!” Stiles groaned, tossing his head back dramatically as he slumped back against the seat, before wistfully adding, “Unless it’s a sexy surprise. Sexy surprises are the best.”

Derek raised a brow, sparing a glance at him and asking, “How would you know? Last I checked you were a virgin… Unless that’s changed since our last date.”

“Of course not. I’m a one-werewolf man. But you know what I mean,” Stiles scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Are you gonna tell me where we’re going now?”

“No,” Derek responded with a tiny smirk, obviously amused by Stiles’ insistence. “It’s a surprise.”

“But Derek―” Stiles cut off his own whine, eyes widening in realization “―It’s not a sexy surprise, is it?” Derek snorted but Stiles was only encouraged by the lack of confirmation or denial, biting his lip and dragging his finger over the center console, asking, “You gonna take me back to your place and have your wicked way with me? Hmmm, Mr. Big Bad Wolf?”

Derek’s hands gripped the steering wheel tighter, images of he and Stiles in bed together flashing through his head. He was sorely tempted to forget about the date he’d planned and turn the Camaro around, drive back to the loft, and fall into bed with Stiles, consequences be damned. 

Despite the rush of his blood south, he resisted the temptation and instead kept driving ahead, turning onto the road that would lead them out of Beacon Hills. Once Stiles turned his head to look out the window and realized where they were he asked, “We’re going outta town?”

“Yeah. I figured you might like a change of scenery,” Derek replied, sending him a quick grin, relishing in the soft smile Stiles gave him in return. 

“Gimme your hand, Der,” Stiles requested, holding his own hand out to him. Derek removed his right hand from the steering wheel and placed it in Stiles’. Stiles raised their hands and bent his head to press a kiss to the back of Derek’s palm, entwining their fingers and resting their joined hands on his thigh. After a moment of silence, he quietly asked, “This okay?”

“Yeah,” Derek answered sincerely, gently squeezing Stiles’ hand. He continued driving one handed into the next town over, heading directly to the locale he’d selected for their date.

Stiles’ eyes widened as they pulled into the parking lot, his jaw actually dropping. He turned to Derek slack-jawed, looking equal parts shocked and elated. Excitedly, he squealed, “Dude, seriously? Seriously?!”

“Seriously,” Derek returned, finding a parking space fairly close to the entrance. He turned to Stiles but he was busy staring in awe at the building, plastered against the passenger window. 

“The aquarium?! Really?! Oh my god, you’re the best boyfriend ever!” Stiles exclaimed, throwing his arms around Derek’s neck and smacking a kiss on his lips. Before Derek could respond to the kiss, Stiles was fumbling out of the Camaro.

Derek huffed out a laugh and fondly shook his head, endlessly amused by Stiles. He followed his boyfriend’s lead and unbuckled his seatbelt, sliding out of the Camaro and locking it. Stiles was bouncing on the balls of his feet, smiling broadly, when Derek rounded the car and took his hand, leading him across the crosswalk towards the entrance. 

As they neared the entrance, Stiles paused to pick something off Derek’s shoulder. He lifted his finger to present Derek with what he had found. A ladybug sat on the pad of Stiles’ index finger.

“Ladybug! Good luck sign,” Stiles mused. They watched the insect take flight, disappearing into the blue sky. Continuing towards the entrance, Stiles elbowed Derek’s arm playfully and teased, “Play your cards right and maybe you’ll get lucky tonight.”

Derek swallowed heavily, unable to discern if Stiles was being facetious or not, and willed away any thoughts of Stiles naked in his bed as they entered the aquarium, Derek holding the door open for Stiles. Derek accepted two maps from the woman at the information desk, handing one to Stiles, and stuffed a hundred dollar bill into the donation jar. It earned him a gasp from the greeter and a kiss on the cheek from Stiles who linked their arms together as they walked.

Opening his map, Stiles traced a path through the aquarium, looking up at Derek for approval of his plan. Derek simply nodded, fully prepared to follow Stiles’ into hell if need be. Instead of hell, Stiles directed him to the closest exhibit which happened to be an interactive touch tank full of harmless rays, epaulette sharks, and assorted starfish and urchins. 

Stiles dug his cellphone from his pocket, making sure his flash was off before taking a handful of pictures. He returned the device to his pocket to dip his hand into the tank, stroking his palm over the smooth skin of a shark. Turning to look over his shoulder at Derek, he urged him to join him, “C’mon, Der!” 

Slipping his leather jacket off and rolling up his sleeves, Derek moved to the tank, dipping his hand into the cool water. His ran his fingers over the back of a nearby ray, picked up a brightly colored starfish and handed it to Stiles who smiled as if he’d just been handed a priceless pearl. Derek was quick to snap a picture on his own cellphone. 

After satisfying his need to be hands-on with everything in life, Stiles dried his hands and linked arms with Derek again, leading him toward the next exhibit.

They strolled through halls of tropical pacific fish, Stiles reading every informational plaque aloud and taking myriad pictures of any fish that caught his eyes, specifically any fish that were blue orange, snorting at Derek’s unamused look. But Derek did crack a smile when Stiles pointed out a Pacific goliath grouper with a heavy brow and immediately dubbed it Sourfish.

“Aww, there’s a smile!” Stiles chirped animatedly. “Now c’mon and stand over here, I wanna get a picture of you two.”

Derek did as he was instructed, slipping his jacket back on and scowling for the camera, trying not to laugh as Stiles’ face flushed bright red as he too tried to refrain from laughing and focus on taking the picture. After snapping a few, Stiles finally let himself laugh, doubling over and clutching his stomach. He managed to wheeze, “Oh my god! It’s like seeing double!”

Derek rolled his eyes, noticing the strange, judgemental looks Stiles was garnering from passersby as he guffawed loudly. He narrowed his eyes at a man who was obviously mocking Stiles from across the hall, tempted to flash his eyes at him, He managed to refrain. 

Wiping tears from his eyes, Stiles stood leaning heavily against Derek’s side as they moved on, showing Derek the pictures of him and his piscine doppelganger. Derek had to admit that the resemblance was uncanny. Put the grouper in a leather jacket and they were twins.

When he told Stiles as much, Stiles nearly collapsed in a fit of laughter, burying his face against Derek’s shoulder, sagging against him. They paused before entering the next exhibit, allowing themselves to finish their giggling and try to regain their composure. 

After they managed to get themselves under control, they entered the next exhibit. Stiles’ eyes darted to and fro, racing around so as not to miss anything. He ooh-ed and ahh-ed, pointing out fish and sharks and eels and rays to Derek, not wanting him to miss anything, looking fascinated by every little creature. 

They moved through the other exhibits much the same way, only coming to a snag in their plan when they found the dolphin exhibit was temporarily closed. When he saw Stiles pout, Derek was quick to reassure him, “We’ll have to come back some time so we can see the dolphins.” 

“Really?” Stiles asked hopefully, looking up at Derek with a huge grin spread across his lips. Derek nodded and kissed his forehead before nodding to the side towards the last exhibit. 

They entered a darker hallway with sparse lighting along the floor. It was obvious why the room was so dark. It was filled with vertical cylindrical tanks teeming with jellyfish. But not just any jellyfish―

“Moon jellies!” Stiles yelped, running over to one of the tanks, eyes wide as saucers. Derek obediently followed him to the tank, eyes flitting over the bioluminescent jellyfish drifting leisurely in the tank. Stiles took his phone out again, snapping several pictures of the lambently glowing invertebrates, mouth open in awe at nature’s beautiful adaption. In a hushed whisper, Stiles commented, “They’re beautiful.”

“Yeah, they really are,” Derek agreed, reaching out for Stiles’ hand, squeezing it gently. They watched the jellyfish float around in their tank, looking like littoral northern lights. It was a study in contradictions. Yes, they were beautiful but they were also capable of inflicting horrible pain.

It reminded Stiles of Derek; the most gorgeous person he had ever met but also, arguably, the most dangerous.

He ran his thumb over Derek’s knuckles, thinking about how gentle Derek always was with him despite how much harm he could inflict if he so wished. 

Looking down at their joined hands, Stiles quietly confessed, “They were my mom’s part of the aquarium.”

Derek turned to look at Stiles, finding him looking down. Softly, he answered, “I can see why.”

A small smile curled Stiles’s lips. Leaning against Derek’s side, he sighed contentedly. He gazed up at Derek and asked, “So any other plans for tonight, big guy?” 

Derek inclined his head enough to meet Stiles’ eyes, smiling at him calmly. He pecked him on the nose, reveling in the way Stiles wrinkled his nose after the he did, and told him, “Yeah, c’mon.”

Derek led Stiles out the dim room and out of the aquarium, to the Camaro. But instead of unlocking the doors, he simply popped the trunk and pulled a blanket out. At Stiles’ thoroughly confused look, Derek reiterated, “It’s a surprise.”

Stiles rolled his eyes and followed Derek to a small field beside the aquarium. There were a few dozen others in the field, some sitting on towels and blankets, others standing in the grass. Derek spread out the blanket and sat down, gesturing for Stiles to do the same. Once he did he looked around for the reason they were there. He found it when he peered past another couple and noticed a small jazz band on a small wooden platform. 

Stiles wrapped his arms about Derek’s arm and rested his cheek against his bicep as they listened to the smooth, calming music. Derek curled his forearm around Stiles’ back, holding him close as he placed his cheek on the top of Stiles’ head, savoring the feel of his soft hair against his skin, breathing in his comforting scent. 

They lingered in the small field, listening to the smooth music until the sun set and the sky darkened, stars shining overhead. When the band played their final song, they waited until the final notes drifted away into the night air. They stood, folding up the blanket and approaching the band to thank them for their wonderful performance, Derek handing the saxophone player a large tip when he shook his hand. 

They were strolling back to the Camaro, swinging their joined hands, when Stiles stopped suddenly. His abrupt halt stopped Derek in his tracks. He turned around to see what was wrong, only for Stiles to kiss him without any further ado. Stiles threw his arms around Derek’s neck and brought their mouths together, kissing him with a gentle passion that stirred Derek to his core.

When Stiles pulled back he smiled, almost shyly, up at Derek and told him, “Thank you. This was amazing.”

Derek pressed a kiss to Stiles’ forehead in response. He pulled Stiles along, tucking the blanket back into the trunk and unlocking the Camaro doors.

“You ready to go home?” Derek asked once they were both inside the car, seatbelts fastened. Stiles shook his head. Derek raised a curious brow and asked, “Then where to?”

Stiles smirked. “Surprise me.”


End file.
